Hello everybody- I have had my Z28 for 3 months now. I took it to a friends house last night (and picked-up some chicks), so there were 4 people in the car.

I stopped at an empty section of the road, revved it up to about 2.5k RPM, dumped the clutch, and punched it. 1st gear started spinning, then it stopped (the engine was spinning about 5k RPM and was inching forward slowly). I then dumped it into 2nd, where it did the same thing. After a few minutes, I smelt the clutch burning. It was cold out, so the tires should have smoked, but they didn't. Has anybody else experienced this? I would think those skinny tires (stock 245/50/16) would spin before the clutch would let loose. I am going to take it to the dealership next week. Any ideas?

BTW- I have been driving clutches since I was 16 (for 4 years now) and I am very easy on them, I don't ride or burn it.

 

A fried plug wire or two causing a slight low rpm miss can sometimes feel like a slipping clutch. I had two fried wires i thought the clutch was game over. However, this doesn't explain burnt clutch smell.

 

Are you 100% absolutely sure your floormat didn't slip up and keep the clutch pedal from popping all the way out? A friend of mine did this at the track last time we went. He thought he fried his clutch. When he checked his floormat he noticed it was way out of place. He did burn it pretty bad. It stunk for the rest of the night. But it's not dead yet. He's just a little bit more conscious of where the floor mat is now.

 

The car is brand new, so the clutch should not be that badly worn. The night that happened, I just vacuumed the car, so the floormat was in it's correct posistion. Since this has happened, it feels like the clutch is engaging soon (closer to the floor when letting off of it). I will keep everybody posted when I get back from the dealership.

 

When ever I have tryed to do a burnout or anything that would invole dropping the clutch at a higher RPM my clutch always is burnt like that. Maybe you did just spin your tires and they didn't smoke..I never smoke mine but they always spin. Its kinda fun shifting into 2nd kicking the tail side ways with passengers in the car...God I am going to miss this car


Seth

 

hmmmm, the thing is, that I have dropped the clutch like that before, smoked 1st for 40 feet, drop it into 2nd, and spin for another 100 feet. I know the clutch was slipping because I could smell it. I don't know, I am going to stop spinning the tires (yeah right!)

 

I think your clutch is screwed because mine did the exact same thing. I would guess your friction point isnt near as good as it was before, am I correct? My friction point was way high in the pedal range, now its clear down next to the floor. I was doing the exact same thing you were doing. Its been that way for the last two weeks and it gets worse every couple of days. I think im going to hook it up with the clutch from the Covette Z06. Its not as expensive as you think, its like 325 dollars. It will be stronger than your stock one and take more of a beating.

 

A couple more questions....

I thought that 2001 and 2002 Z28's and SS's had the Z06 clutch in them?

and

For all the M6 guys, how hard is it to put into gear? Mine is really difficult, far more than anything I have ever driven. I have driven trucks (full size and compacts) and family cars that are buttery smooth to put into gear. Could this be another sign that some piece is going bad (like the throw-out bearing)?

Thanks

 

My 2002 SS is -very- hard to put into gears compared to ANY other manual I've driven.

Wonder what causes this.

 

'02 got the Z06 clutch.

Mine's notchy but it goes into gear without forcing it. It just sticks a little as it goes in. My theory is that it's either high/low viscosity fluid or the throw out bearing. But that's just my theory. And I'd rather live with it this way than live with it the way it comes back from the dealer after they 'fix' it.

 

My shifter is also 'less than smooth' while trying to shift into 2 & 3rd. In contrast, the 5 speed on my dodge Dakota is very smooth- I hardly ever miss a gear. I am hoping that there is a break-in period on the Hurst and that at some point all parts will wear smooth. I also have driven many manually operated cars and this one is by far the 'stiffest'.

I'll still keep it!

 

I've had the exact same problem, i've burnt my clutch by shifting to 3rd(it slipped pretty bad), also when i stop, and try to throw it in gear (especially when the car is cold)its hard as f***...(my car has 6k miles on it) I'm taking it in tomm, we'll see what happens, and by the way, if you are gonna upgrade to a new clutch get something better than the Z06, cause it SUX

 

Thanks to all who replied. The car is at the dealer right now. I am not going to be happy if they try and pull some BS with me. I will let everybody know what they say.

 

Driving to work I think I did a 2-1 shift instead of a 2-3. It was really cold and I was having a hard time getting my clutch to warm up. I hope I didn't bend my rods. How will I know if I did and what would the dealer do if I did? The car only has 3,300 miles on it.

How often do clutches go out on LS1's? This is my first stick and so I'm pretty sure I've beat the crap of it.

 

I have a similar problem with my car. it's a 98 and although it only has 27k miles, i don't know how the first driver drove it. The hard shifter isn't really a problem all f-cars are like that ever driven a 3rd gen 5 speed? or a 1st gen cable clutch? not the smoothest silkiest shifters. i used to have a 89 iroc and it wuz stiff as hell, and my dads 68, isn't soft either. but my biggest problem is 2-3rd and reverse. It's like i step on the pedal throw it in reverse and i feel it fall in; but when i lighten off the clutch u hear the disk scratching, there are times when i have to sit there and try multiple times before it falls into gear. and when i drive it hard 2nd to 3rd, there are times when i can't catch third and fall into 5th, even if i granny shift. Im thinking of getting a new clutch n-e ways, i know one thing if u hold the car at red lights in gear ingaged to stop it from rolling back for an extended period of time you'll overheat the disk and wear it it out in no time. That's what i think happened to mines.